Track and field | Southeast qualifies five, Bayshore three for state meet
TAMPA -- Southeast's trip to Berkeley Preparatory School for the Class 2A-Region 3 meet Friday brought back unpleasant memories for Trangila Martin. The Seminoles' girls head coach's last recollection of Berkeley Prep was two years ago when the Noles' 400-meter relay team was disqualified in the final after winning the preliminaries. A team with state-championship aspirations never got a chance to compete in the Class 3A final.
Southeast's return trip to Berkeley for the region meet this season was better, even if the Seminoles didn't capture any region championships. Their five qualifiers for the 3A meet on May 6 in Bradenton made this visit a success.
"Oh, yeah, I'm glad. We're going to state," Martin said. "Right across town."
Johnelle Clark and Priscilla Miller are the two Noles, who will compete in multiple events at the state meet next week at IMG Academy. Clark finished third in the discus and fourth in the shot put. Miller finished fourth in the 200-meter dash and led off Southeast's 400 relay, which finished second.
The top four finishers in each event qualified for the state meet, which will take place across two days at IMG
Academy Stadium.
Clark and Miller are also the Seminoles' only two repeat qualifiers, and Miller is going for the first time as an individual after leading off the 400 relay as an eighth-grader last year. Clark is also adding an event.
The senior finished 16th in the state in the discus throw and despite an abbreviated season she was able to break through in the shot put, as well. Southeast's postseason basketball run delayed Clark's arrival on the field. Clark has extended her practice sessions to ensure herself a spot at IMG.
"She worked harder. She started lifting more weights," Martin said. "She really pushed it."
Dequan Williams, however, was the Seminoles' top finisher at region. The junior finished second in the shot put with a 13.53-meter toss. Dominic McRae was the Noles' final qualifier, fighting through a knee injury for a fourth-place finish in the 800 run.
Bayshore also sent three through to the state meet, including a second-place finisher. Alexus Norman, who finished fifth in the state last year, took second in the high jump Friday, leaping 5 feet, 2 inches and only losing out on a region championship because of a miss.
It's the second straight year Norman has been a runner-up at region. Last year, she finished only behind her sister, Joy Norman, who went on to win a state championship for the Bruins.
"She's got more confidence. She's not behind her sister now and she's got a lot more confidence," BHS head coach Kim Cook said. "She's not having to be in the shadows now. She's the top dog with us."
Arion Youmans gave Bayshore its only individual region champion on the track with a third-place finish in the 400 dash. The Bruins finished the day with a third-place finish in the girls 1600 relay.
Neither Southeast nor BHS finished higher than ninth as a team in either boys or girls. The Seminole girls scored 28 points for a ninth-place finish and the Bayshore girls scored 22 to finish 14th. The Noles' boys finished 13th with 13 points and Bruin boys finished in a tie for 19th with six.
David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2.
This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Track and field | Southeast qualifies five, Bayshore three for state meet ."